Denmark, the happiest country in the world also happens to be the second-largest consumer of anti-depressants... Statistics can be extremely deceptive to the unaware. Depending on the statistic one chooses to use or ignore, contrasting images can be drawn before the public.

Why people do find surge pricing acceptable for airlines and the Indian Railways, but not for taxi services? This could be due to two factors: (a) the dynamicity of the price fluctuation which is highly unpredictable and (b) because of the extent to which public relies on these services. Fortunately, there are several possible solutions to the surge pricing conundrum.

Last month, a relative of mine returned from the UK after five long years. When I asked him what he felt coming back to India, he said that it was like travelling in a tram after a bullet train ride. Life had slowed down. Transportation, in particular, was painfully slow. In the course of our conversation, he asked me whether we still considered aviation as a luxury or as an essential commodity. This question got me thinking and as a researcher, I turned to numbers for answers.